Circular No. 7/2016 issued on the 28th of March 2016 by the Department of Merchant Shipping advises on the transposition of the European Commission Directive (EU) 2015/559 (the “Directive (EU) 2015/559”) by the Merchant Shipping (Marine Equipment) Order of 2016 (P.I 92/2016) (the “Order”) and the Merchant Shipping (Marine Equipment) Notification of 2016 (P.I 91/2016) (the “Notification”) which were issued by the Minister of Communications and Works.
Accordingly, the Order substitutes Schedule A of the Merchant Shipping (Marine Equipment) Laws 2002 (Law 55(I)/2002 as amended) (the “Law”), with a New Schedule A identical to Annex A of the Directive (EU) 2015/559. Similarly, the Notification sets out the equipment referred to in section 6(3) of the Law. Thus, pursuant to Article 2 of the Directive (EU) 2015/559, the equipment under Schedule A.1 of the Law, as having been transferred from Schedule A.2 of the Law, that was manufactured prior to the 30th April 2016 in accordance with the type-approval procedures that existed on that date in Cyprus, may continue to be on the market and on board a Cyprus Ship or a Community Ship until the 30th April 2018.
The implementation date for the new Order and Notification is the 30th April 2016.
For access to the European Directive, please click here.
